2018 Released Items Grade 8 English Language Arts/Literacy End Of

Home , Aleksei Chirikov, Aleut, Bering Strait, Russian America, Three Saints Bay, Vitus Bering

Grade 8 English Language Arts/Literacy End of Year M/L Informational Text Set

2018 Released Items

2018 Released Items: Grade 8 End of Year M/L Informational Text Set

The medium/long (M/L) informational text set requires students to read an informational text and answer questions.

The 2018 blueprint for the grade 8 M/L informational text set includes Evidence-Based Selected Response/ Technology-Enhanced Constructed Response items.

Included in this document: • Answer key and standards alignment • PDFs of each item with the associated text

Additional related materials not included in this document: • Guide to English Language Arts/Literacy Released Items: Understanding Scoring 2015 • Guide to English Language Arts/Literacy Released Items: Understanding Scoring 2016

Release Items Answer and Alignment Document

Text Type: EOY M-E Info Passage(s): Alaska’s Russian Roots Item Code Answer(s) Standards/Evidence Statement Alignment VH081763 Item Type: EBSR RI 8.1.1 Part A: D L 8.4.1 Part B: C L 8.6.1

VH081768 Item Type: EBSR RH 8.1.3 Part A: A RI 8.1.1 Part B: C RI 8.2.2 RI 8.2.1 VH081788 Item Type: EBSR RH 8.1.3 Part A: C RI 8.1.1 Part B: B RI 8.6.2

VH081773 Item Type: EBSR RH 8.1.3 Part A: A RI 8.1.1 Part B: D RH 8.5.3 RI 8.3.1 VH081810 Item Type: TECR RH 8.1.3 RI 8.1.1 RH 8.8.6

VH081778 Item Type: EBSR RH 8.1.3 Part A: B RI 8.1.1 Part B: D RH 8.5.3 RI 8.5.1 VH081796 Item Type: EBSR (additional item) RH 8.1.3 Part A: D RI 8.2.2 Part B: B

VH081802 Item Type: TECR (additional item) RH 8.1.3 RH 8.3.5

Read the article “Alaska’s Russian Roots.” Then answer the questions.

Alaska’s Russian Roots

by Megan Kopp

1 In 1725, shortly before his death, Russian czar Peter the Great told Danish- born Vitus Bering to travel north to find Gamaland, which was thought to be part of North America. The czar hoped to find new lands and assets for Russia. His quest opened the door to a new territory, a region rich in natural resources that would be known for almost 150 years as Russian Alaska.

2 Sailing aboard the St. Gabriel through seemingly endless fog in the strait that was later named for him, Bering’s party came close to but never actually landed in North America in 1728. The fog prevented Bering from making accurate and specific maps of his journey.

3 Since Bering had not reached mainland America, a second expedition was planned. In June 1741, the twin ships St. Peter and St. Paul (under the commands of Bering and Aleksei Chirikov, a naval officer and Bering’s second in command) set sail from Russia for eastern shores. This Great Northern Expedition would do for land east of Russia what Christopher Columbus had done for land west of Spain.

4 Stormy weather separated the ships, and each sailed eastward alone. In July, Chirikov’s ship, the St. Paul, reached the coast of Alaska, just south of Baranof Island. A landing party was sent out, but it never returned. It was assumed that hostile natives had killed those sailors. Suffering from scurvy, Chirikov and his crew began the long return journey to Russia.

5 Bering, too, reached land. His ship, the St. Peter, landed on Kayak Island, near present-day Cordova. There, naturalist George Steller studied the plant and animal life and collected specimens for further study. Battered by constant storms, the St. Peter was wrecked while landing on an island in the Gulf of Alaska. The crew was forced to spend the winter there. Bering, sixty, died of scurvy on December 8, 1741, on the small island that now bears his name.

6 Half of Bering’s stranded crew, however, built a longboat and returned to Russia in March 1743. Their cargo included a selection of sea otter pelts. The otter fur brought great profits and sparked a fur rush.

7 Fur hunters, known in Russian as promyshlennikis, began working in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands as early as 1745. The hunters were ruthless and brutal, enslaving and killing countless native Aleuts over the next forty years. The Aleut people also became the victims of diseases that the Russians brought with them. The Aleut population went from 20,000 in 1741 to 2,000 in 1800.

8 In 1784, businessman Grigorii Shelikhov set up the first permanent settlement—called Three Saints Bay—on Kodiak Island, which is just east of the Alaska Peninsula. He hired Aleksandr Baranov in 1790 to manage the fur-trading operations there. Baranov moved the headquarters of the trading company from Three Saints Bay to St. Paul Harbor (also on Kodiak Island) in 1791. Under his direction, new settlements (often called redoubts) were established.

9 In June 1802, native unrest led to an attack on the Russian redoubt near Sitka. A group of native Alaskans called Tlingits killed the men and took the women as slaves. Two years later, Baranov struck back. He stormed the native stronghold and forced a retreat. This marked the end of Tlingit resistance to Russian settlement.

10 The settlement was rebuilt and called New Archangel. It became the trading company’s new headquarters. Shelikhov’s fur-trading empire was then named the Russian-American Company. It controlled all Russian fur activity in Alaska. Baranov was named the first Russian governor. He would keep this position until 1818, when he retired at the age of seventy-two.

11 With the growing presence of Russians in the frontier territory of Alaska came the arrival of missionaries. In 1824, Russian Orthodox missionary Father Ioann Veniaminov settled on Unalaska (one of the Aleutian Islands). He created an alphabet for the Aleut people, who had no written language at the time. Veniaminov went on to translate some of the liturgy into the Aleut language so that the Aleuts could conduct church services. In the 1830s, he moved to what is now Sitka and began teaching Tlingit children. In 1841, by

then known as Bishop Innocent, Veniaminov continued to expand the territory covered by the Russian Orthodox church.

12 During this time, there was concern over the reduced sea otter population. Baron Ferdinand P. von Wrangel, chief manager of the Russian-American Company from 1830 to 1835, set up specific hunting districts and allowed only young male sea otters to be taken.

13 Although the sea otter population grew under Wrangel’s conservation efforts, the fur-trading empire began to shrink. After the expense of the Crimean War and an 1862 report that showed the Russian colony of Alaska’s vulnerability, Russia began to consider selling Alaska to the United States.

14 U.S. secretary of state William H. Seward, who was in favor of the Alaska purchase, immediately offered five million dollars.The Russians held out for more. President Andrew Johnson had authorized Seward to spend as much as seven million dollars. This is what was agreed upon eventually, but Seward offered an additional $200,000 for an immediate signing of the treaty.

15 On October 18, 1867, in Sitka, the Russian flag was taken down, and the American flag was raised. It was the end of a chapter in the history of Russian America and the beginning of a new book on American Alaska.

VH081763 1. Part A What does the word liturgy mean as it is used in paragraph 11?

A. the native language of a particular group of people B. a textbook used to teach Russian to foreigners C. an attempt to persuade others of a particular set of beliefs D. the ceremonies and words used in a religion’s public worship

Part B Which phrase from paragraph 11 helps the reader understand the word liturgy?

A. “. . . the arrival of missionaries.” B. “. . . created an alphabet for the Aleut people . . .” C. “. . . could conduct church services.” D. “. . . continued to expand the territory . . .”

VH081768 2. Part A Which sentence states a central idea of the article?

A. The first attempts at settling Alaska were met with great danger and difficulty. B. The Bering Strait is named after Vitus Bering, who was born in Denmark, not Russia. C. Because of the arrival of Russians, the Aleut population severely declined. D. Peter the Great was responsible for the expansion of Russian territory.

Part B Which sentence from the article best helps to develop this central idea?

A. “His quest opened the door to a new territory, a region rich in natural resources that would be known for almost 150 years as Russian Alaska.” (paragraph 1) B. “Sailing aboard the St. Gabriel through seemingly endless fog in the strait that was later named for him, Bering’s party came close to but never actually landed in North America in 1728.” (paragraph 2) C. “A landing party was sent out, but it never returned.” (paragraph 4) D. “The Aleut people also became the victims of diseases that the Russians brought with them.” (paragraph 7)

VH081788 3. Part A What is the author’s purpose in including the information in paragraph 9?

A. to prove that the Russian settlers were exceptionally brave in the face of hardship B. to illustrate Baranov’s strong leadership and justify his being named the first Russian governor C. to demonstrate that the Russian presence in Alaska was not entirely positive or welcome D. to suggest that the native Alaskans were every bit as brutal as the Russian fur hunters

Part B Which other paragraph in the article supports the answer to Part A?

A. paragraph 5 B. paragraph 7 C. paragraph 8 D. paragraph 10

VH081773 4. Part A Christopher Columbus was the famous European explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century opened the door for Spanish colonization of America. Why does the author draw an analogy between Bering’s Great Northern Expedition and Christopher Columbus?

A. to emphasize the significance of Bering’s expedition by comparing it with an event of widely acknowledged importance B. to highlight the differences between Bering’s unsuccessful expedition and another much more successful one C. to demonstrate that Russia was in competition with Spain and other European nations over territories in America D. to suggest that Russia’s expedition to Alaska came too late to have much impact on the exploration and settlement of America

Part B What additional detail from the article further develops the point made by the analogy?

A. Bering was meant to find a place called Gamaland. B. Bering’s ship was wrecked in the Gulf of Alaska. C. There are a strait and an island named after Vitus Bering. D. After Bering’s expedition, several settlements were built in Alaska.

VH081810 5. Read the sentences from “Alaska’s Russian Roots.” Two sentences contain only facts and two contain reasoned judgments. Drag and drop those sentences into the correct place in the table.

VH081778 6. Part A Which statement best describes how the information in paragraphs 12 and 13 is organized?

A. The efforts to save the sea otter are presented chronologically. B. The reasons Russia decided to sell Alaska are presented by cause and effect. C. The shrinking of the fur-trading empire is presented in a series of steps. D. The fates of the fur empire and the Russian colony are presented comparatively.

Part B Which sentence from the article most clearly supports the answer to Part A?

A. “During this time, there was concern over the reduced sea otter population.” (paragraph 12) B. “Baron Ferdinand P. von Wrangel, chief manager of the Russian- American Company from 1830 to 1835, set up specific hunting districts and allowed only young male sea otters to be taken.” (paragraph 12) C. “Although the sea otter population grew under Wrangel’s conservation efforts, the fur-trading empire began to shrink.” (paragraph 13) D. “After the expense of the Crimean War and an 1862 report that showed the Russian colony of Alaska’s vulnerability, Russia began to consider selling Alaska to the United States.” (paragraph 13)

VH081796 7. Part A Which detail helps support the central idea that Alaska was a land full of valuable resources?

A. A naturalist was interested in studying the native plants and animals. B. Russia sent a second expedition to Alaska when the first one failed. C. The sea otter population was greatly reduced by the fur trade. D. The furs brought back by Bering’s crew were quite profitable.

Part B In which paragraph is the supporting detail in Part A developed?

A. paragraph 5 B. paragraph 6 C. paragraph 12 D. paragraph 14

VH081802 8. Listed are some key steps that occurred in the establishment of the Russian fur trade in Alaska. Drag and drop them into the chart so that they are in the order in which they happened.

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